Was that a line in a John Wayne or Clint Eastwood western? Or is it a leftover from a boy’s imagination? Whatever the origin, recently that epithet immediately came to mind. When a first glance brought something yellow into view, I asked myself, “Is that really a snake?” Sure enough it was. At about three feet long and one inch

Gingerly turning over newly-found old papers, photographs and assorted documents, surprise: Mom had artistic talent. The loosely bound faded green “Clippings” book that surfaced this past weekend gave that away. Mom saved the collection during WW II, when our mother was single and in her late teens to early twenties. But at the back of the volume, past the war

I mean fix as in repair. Almost nothing is anymore, it’s simply thrown away. But, true to myself, I’ve dug in my heels and resolved to fix things that are broken. No more mindlessly adding them to the landfill. That’s not only to be considerate to the environment, but I miss the satisfaction of, “I DID IT,” with my own

As promised, here is the second and final part of the presentation for 4th of July, 2014. This slide show is both captioned and has music. Teaser: Wait until you see the pooch. LOL. Hope to see y’all at next year’s Round Top parade. In the meantime please visit desktodirt.com often for original good reads and visual presentations. Thanks

Each year Round Top – with neighboring towns and cities – puts on an extensive country parade: an impressive number of horse and riders, vintage cars, fire trucks, tractors and floats make the morning of the Fourth something special. Local politicians and businesses take part in the fun. It is a Fayette County tradition. The main Henkel Square and roads

Well, I have to eat crow. No, one didn’t fall from the sky onto my plate. Metaphorically speaking, I admit that the Craig’s list ad for a mate for my neighbor frog was premature: he already has one and I think a froglet. I’ve seen them both, but only junior – the size of a child’s fingertip – was hopping about

WHAT WAS THAT? I jerk my head up from the pillow. It sounds like animals having a rumble on the metal roof. Pooch Snowball begins to bark. The clock shows 3:16. It’s pitch black outside. There is no moon or starlight. I turn on the outside lights and put on enough clothes to keep from being mosquitoed. Grabbing the flashlight

It is called “gumbo”. No, it is not anything you can eat, at least not directly, not even with chicken and sausage. You grow things in it. Well……maybe. At a distance it looks black, closer it’s dark gray. [See the stuff at the top of this piece.] When it rains a lot, and you first-time-ever step into it – slurp

Every working day for almost forty years I accounted for every hour of work. I had to repeat that sentence to myself to comprehend it. Time cards, whether paper or electronic, had to be filled out, and formally submitted. No card, no pay. Every single hour, sometimes down to the half-hour, had to be recorded. A short description of the

Having unique powers of interspecies observation and communication I offer the following from and about my resident frog, Fuzzy. In addition to divining what he says he needs, I can attest to his being of sound fitness and mind. And being one of my best tenants, I can assure you that he is respectful and pays on time. So here